


Head Boops

by kiebs



Category: Free!
Genre: Drabble, Drabbles, Everything is platonic and nothing hurts, Friendship, Gen, Makoto being a mother hen, Mamakoto, Platonic Love, somewhat drabble-y
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-30
Updated: 2014-08-02
Packaged: 2018-02-11 00:39:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2046441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiebs/pseuds/kiebs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Makoto has a special way of calming people down. Only…it works better when he’s tallest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rei

He isn’t sure when it started, but Makoto realizes it became a habit when he just subconsciously lays his forehead against Rin’s one winter evening.

If he wanted to blame someone, Makoto could actually blame the redhead. It had all started way back when they were in elementary, back in those short weeks that they had become friends. Of course, back then, it had only been inclining his head towards them, not actually touching skin, but that was still probably where it started. It had only gotten worse ever since he, Haruka, and Nagisa had started the swim team.

* * *

The first time Makoto actually touched skin with his habit had occurred shortly after Rei had joined the team.

-

Since Nagisa always teased the former track runner, who got easily flustered and angry, Makoto had to dispel even more fights than he usually did. The twins fought all the time, but if you gave them a treat, they made up quickly. It wasn’t so easy with the two first years and he actually found himself at a loss of what to do more often than not. It was easier when he knew the cause of the fighting, but with Nagisa that could be anything. It could be about Rei’s swimming ability or his obsession with beauty or something else entirely. Whatever the reason, the two fought as much as they got along and it honestly gave Makoto a headache at times.

Moreover, it usually fell onto him to clear the air. Gou and Miss Amakata, though worried, never intervened: usually because neither wanted to deal with the boys’ stupidity. Makoto somewhat wished his teacher would step in more since she _was_ their advisor, but she was more often than not chatting with Gou or busy looking over papers to deal with their antics. Gou had actually tried once or twice, bless her, but had gotten nowhere. At least she tried. Haru, on the other hand…

Makoto didn’t even entertain the idea of getting Haruka to stop the two. His childhood friend was usually too absorbed in swimming to care about the spats. His only response to any arguing was to glare if they got too loud and dive to the other end of the pool.

Which left Makoto.

Said young man sighed, rubbing his temples as he stood feet away from the bickering duo. Nagisa was actually grinning, laughing merrily at Rei’s flustered face. He didn’t know how it started and honestly, he didn’t want to know. All he knew was that the two had been going at it since the moment he arrived. God, sometimes he disliked being captain.

Rei’s face was becoming redder and redder, getting closer and closer to the color of his frames. Finally, not knowing what else to do, Makoto reached out and grabbed the younger boy’s arm.

“Rei,” he said, trying to sound more authoritative and soothing. He pulled the bespectacled boy towards himself, bumping his forehead lightly against his. “It’s all right. Nagisa doesn’t mean any harm.”

“A-Ah, M-M-Makoto-senpai!” Rei stuttered out, stiffening in Makoto’s grip. “W-What-?”

“Calm down, Rei.” Makoto smiled gently, lifting his head. “Nagisa is just teasing. _Right_ , Nagisa?”

He turned towards the blond boy, tilting his head curiously at those sparkling eyes. Those ruby depths full of mischievousness made the hair his neck stand on end, but he couldn’t show his worry. Instead, he fixed him with a hard stare and his smile still sat resolutely on his face. After a moment of glancing between the two, Nagisa grinned widely, eyebrows dancing.

“Of course, Mako-chan! I didn’t mean to let it get out of hand, but you’re so cute when you get flustered, Rei-chan!” he giggled, bouncing over to his classmate and hugging his arm. He grinned up at him, wiggling his eyebrows more.

“Stop that,” Rei grumbled, placing his palm against Nagisa’s forehead. The shorter boy only laughed.

Makoto sighed in relief.


	2. Haru

The saying goes, “Two is coincidence…”

The next time it happened with Haruka.

-

His best friend was always an aloof individual and as much as it seemed like he could read him like a book, Makoto sometimes just didn’t know what was going through Haruka’s head. Like having a multitude of bathing suits with similar designs or having this practically unhealthy obsession with mackerel. Makoto supposed that it was normal to want to eat your favorite food a lot, but even he got tired of green curry or chocolate on occasion.

So it didn’t surprise him one day when he noticed that Haruka was swimming a little more agitatedly than normal and he didn’t know the reason. He supposed it could be about Rin or Nagisa could have pulled something. Again. Heck, it could even have something to do with class, though he really doubted that. All he knew was that the sky was threatening rain and, despite needing to train, Makoto made an executive order to cancel practice. The thunder that followed his announcement punctuated his order, but Haruka had already been in the pool when he had made that announcement.

He stood on the edge of the pool, frowning worriedly between the water and the sky, waiting for Haruka to surface near him. Only, his friend didn’t, choosing instead to do multiple laps down the pool. This left Makoto tapping his foot by the edge, biting his lip when he noticed what he was doing. The sky was darkening immensely and the pool’s surface was tumultuous from wind. It was clear there was going to be a storm and one should never swim during a storm. No matter where that person happened to be swimming. Such as in a pool by a quantity of metallic objects.

Haruka surfaced for breath and he immediately called for him, “Haru! Please get out! It’s going to storm soon!”

Glancing towards him, the dark-haired boy dove underwater and resurfaced just in front of him. A relieved sigh left him and Makoto held out his hand, pulling his friend out of the water. However, after accepting his towel, Haruka didn’t wait for him. Instead, the shorter boy headed straight to the locker room, a dark look on his face.

It didn’t sit well with Makoto.

He followed Haruka, waiting by the cubbies while his friend took his time changing. It didn’t really bother him. He was much happier inside a building than outside where he could hear thunder rumbling closer. Still, Haruka’s actions and expression worried him. Even though he didn’t know what, he could tell something was bothering the stoic youth. His swimming had seemed more aggressive than normal. Less like a dolphin and more like a barracuda. It was like his best friend was hunting something in the water and couldn’t find it. Makoto rubbed his arm, frowning at the door to the showers.

Did it have to do with Rin? Maybe? After all, Rin made it clear that they were rivals. Haruka hadn’t exactly been training, but he had been swimming more rigorously since the mishap on the islands. Makoto felt himself blush a little. That had simultaneously been a success and disaster. He shivered, collecting himself when Haruka exited the showers.

There was a dissatisfied look on his face, but he didn’t say anything to Makoto as he started changing, drying himself along the way. This wasn’t an uncommon occurrence between the two of them, but Makoto just felt antsy. He could tell that Haru was upset and he didn’t know what to do. If he said something, Haruka would probably just keep quiet. If he pressed on him, the other boy would just shut him down entirely, probably even storm out. He didn’t want that to happen, especially after his embarrassing moment on the islands. Shuffling a bit, Makoto worried his lip.

“What?”

He jumped, literally jumped, and looked at Haruka in surprised. Gulping, he asked, “W-What do you mean ‘what’, Haru-chan?”

Haruka snorted, displeased at the nickname probably, and didn’t look up from his shirt buttons. “You’re fidgeting. What do you want, Makoto?”

“Ah…that…” Makoto sighed, frowning at the displeased look on his friend’s face. “Are you okay?”

“ _Fine_ ,” Haruka snapped, giving up on the top few buttons and throwing his tie into his bag. He didn’t even bother tucking in his shirt. He picked up his bag and glanced at the other boy. As impassive as his face was, Makoto knew something was up.

He moved without thinking, which he would find later would be his downfall, and placed his forehead against Haruka’s own. The shorter boy blinked, opening his mouth in surprise. Makoto gave him a small smile, something mixed with sympathy and compassion.

“It’ll be okay, Haru,” he said, even though he didn’t know anything. “Everything will be okay in the end.”

In response, Makoto received a small huff, but Haruka had looked less irritated after that.


	3. Nagisa

“…and three is a pattern.”

The third time, Makoto placed his forehead against Nagisa’s and got an interesting reaction.

-

Out of all his friends, Nagisa was the one who got the least angry, right after Haru. Sure, the short boy would get frustrated at times or pout and call them mean, but Makoto had never really seen him angry. Upset and crying, but not angry. So when Nagisa looked almost thunderous during a joint practice with Samezuka, Makoto was immediately concerned.

It was after the regional tournament and their second joint practice hosted at Iwatobi High School. The day was perfect, balmy and pleasant, a gentle breeze cooling them occasionally. The sun shone hot and bright and the sky was a cool blue. Everyone seemed to enjoying being outside, even with their smaller pool. Some of the Samezuka guys had even brought coolers of drinks and snacks. Makoto couldn’t ask for a better day. Everything was going on without a hitch.

That is, until he turned and saw Nagisa’s face darken.

He didn’t know what could cause the first year to get so upset. Rei was with Rin, probably discussing butterfly, and everyone usually got along fairly well with the blond boy. Sure, Nagisa could be a handful, but he was fun and happy-go-lucky. He was usually the one who got his fellow first years to cheer someone up. Makoto smiled a little. Like that time on the island. It had been Nagisa’s goal to get him to smile after that horrifying incident. So whatever made him angry, it must have been something pretty big for the boy to look so furious. The Iwatobi captain sighed, making his way over to the first year.

“Ah, Nagisa?” he called once he was near enough, smiling warmly. “Everything all right?”

“Ah! Mako-chan! Listen, listen!” Nagisa immediately latched onto Makoto’s arm and, despite the forced lightness of his tone, anger still scrunched his nose. “You won’t believe this! Rei-cha-!”

“What’s wrong, Nagisa?” Makoto knew the shorter boy was trying to hide it, but he had already seen his angry face.

The blond boy widened his eyes, trying to look innocent. “What do you mean, Mako-chan?”

He took a step back from his captain, hands dropping from his arm. Nagisa tried for a wide smile, like normal, but it was marred by the tightness around his eyes and the lack of merriment in them. Makoto supposed Nagisa was trying not to worry him. However, with his personality, the tall boy had to admit he was a worrier by nature. No matter how much Nagisa evaded the topic, he would still worry.

Instead of prying, Makoto lightly sighed and leaned down. He pressed his forehead against the fluffy hair that covered Nagisa’s own forehead. The action was a little awkward given the difference in their heights, but he made sure to meet with the younger boy’s wide eyes. He smiled reassuringly.

“Whatever is wrong, we’ll get it cleared up, okay?” he said, using his best captain voice. “Don’t worry, Nagisa.”

For a moment, the first year was silent, mouth open in surprise and blinking owlishly, before his lips twitched up into a smile. And then, Nagisa _giggled_.

“All right, Mako-chan!” he chirped, laughing, and rubbed his head in that familiar manner. Makoto pulled away, laughing himself.

“Ack! Nagisa!”


	4. Gou

There really isn’t a saying for when things happen four times in a row. After all, someone has to be pretty dense not to notice by the fourth time, right? Makoto had to admit he could be oblivious at times.

The fourth happened during the cultural festival in the fall.

-

The team, like most clubs, had been asked to supply a booth for the festival and they were more than happy to comply. Only, being such a small club, there was a big issue on who would be able to work it and what they could do with only five members. Nagisa suggested a food stall of some kind, but that would require having at least two members there at all times. Nagisa and Rei’s class were in charge of putting on one of the plays that evening and the two were in it themselves. Makoto and Haruka’s class had a game booth of some kind, which gave them more leeway, but it would be rude to make them do most of the work, or so Gou said. Makoto didn’t mind, but Gou looked adamant on having everyone sharing the work.

Still, the young girl practically ran herself ragged, trying to figure out something to do for the team. For every club meeting on the subject, Gou would shuffle through her papers frantically and then suggest something. Only, it was usually something outrageous or too costly and they had to veto it. Makoto always felt bad, considering he was captain and should be pulling his weight more, but he was unsure what would be a good booth to do.

It was after a spectacularly disastrous meeting that he learned Gou was on both the committee for her class and the team. It only made Makoto feel worse.

The meeting itself hadn’t started badly. They had actually figured out something that wasn’t out of their budget and didn’t seem hard to put together. Makoto had to give credit to his classmate Tohru for the suggestion, actually. If it wasn’t for her, they probably would be throwing together something the night before. Thankfully, their budget allowed them to do the shooting booth. At least that was good. They just had to figure out the materials and the prizes. That was where the meeting started going downhill.

Officially, Nagisa was the treasurer of the club. Since they had such a small budget, he didn’t often have to deal with money. That was probably all well and good considering how bad he was at math. He was decent enough for everyday things, but Makoto wouldn’t say aloud that he had his doubts about the first year’s ability to balance the budget. And that was where the argument started.

“ _I’m_ the treasurer, Gou-chan! You should at _least_ let me _see_ the budget!”

“It’s Kou, for the thousandth time! And no, Nagisa-kun! As the manager and committee chair, _I’ll_ deal with the budget!”

“Argh! You’re so stubborn! Let me _help_!”

“No! You’ll just mess it up!”

“You wound me, Gou-chan! Rei-chan, tell her I won’t mess it up!”

“Why are you bringing me into this, Nagisa-kun!?”

“Because you’re smart and you love me!”

“L-Love-!?”

“Nagisa-kun, just give up! I can do the budget myself!”

“Well, we have to know how much we can spend on materials!”

“I-I can figure that out! Gosh! Stop being a pest!”

“Come on, Gou-chan! Mako-chan! Gou-chan is being mean!”

Makoto looked up from the paper he and Haruka were looking over. Nagisa and Gou stood across from each other, the table in between them. Rei sat on Nagisa’s left and his chair was almost against Haruka from scooting back away from the argument. The two standing first years stared beseechingly at the captain, both faces red and pouting severely. Looking between the two, Makoto sighed and stood himself. His height could be rather advantageous in situations where he needed to look authoritative.

“Nagisa, Gou-chan, please stop,” he exhaled, running a hand through his hair. He smiled at the two. “Okay?”

“But Makoto-senpai-!” Gou began, slamming her hands on the table and leaning towards him. He held up a hand.

“Haru and I went over the budget while you two bickered,” Makoto explained, looking between the two. Gou had the decency to look embarrassed while Nagisa clapped his hands in admiration. “The two of us know enough people around town and the commercial district to probably get discounts on most of the materials. As for prizes, my mother mentioned a toy store that her friend works at. We could probably get stuffed toys there for a decent price, as long as it isn’t a whole lot.” He lifted the paper. “We can start today. Rei, Nagisa, you go with Haru and start collecting the larger items. Gou-chan, we can go talk to the toy store and see if we can get a discount, all right?”

“Ah, but…” The young girl frowned worriedly.

“Don’t worry, Gou-chan.” Makoto smiled, collecting his bag. “All right. Let’s go, everyone.”

“Okay, Mako-chan!” Nagisa sang, grabbing his bag and then Rei.

The taller first year squawked indignantly as the blond boy pulled him out of the room. Haruka followed much more slowly, throwing a weary leer at Makoto, before breathing out a soft, “yes, yes”, when Nagisa called for him. Chuckling at the three, the tall youth turned towards their manager.

“Shall we?” he asked warmly. He had almost held his hand out to her, but that probably would have been improper.

Nevertheless, Gou blushed and fidgeted. “Sure…”

The two exited the room, waving to their friends who were already making their way across the campus. Well, Makoto waved; Gou puffed out her cheeks angrily and huffed, turning away. The display wasn’t surprising, but he still sighed softly. Gou and Rin were definitely siblings. The two both had such tempers. He chuckled to himself. Well, maybe having Gou focus on the prizes would take her mind off Nagisa. Hopefully. Leading the way from the clubroom, he got as far as the bottom of the stairs before he realized that Gou wasn’t with him. For one moment, dread filled his stomach, but when he turned, Makoto found the redhead standing on the steps.

She was frowning and her eyebrows were furrowed. He immediately knew that her mind was on the argument again. The Matsuoka siblings certainly knew how to hold grudges. With another sigh, Makoto crossed back to her, stopping a step below her when she didn’t acknowledge his presence at first.

“Why…was Nagisa-kun _so_ pushy?” she grumbled, but he didn’t think she was actually talking to him. “I mean, gosh! I’m the committee chair!”

“And he’s the treasurer,” Makoto added, causing Gou to jump and look up at him. He smiled. So she hadn’t noticed him. Pretty impressive considering his height.

Again, she puffed out her cheeks, but before she could retort, his forehead made contact with hers. Whatever she was going to say died on her lips and she instead made a weird little strangled noise as her cheeks flared.

“M-Makoto-senpai?”

“You take too much on yourself, Gou-chan,” he murmured and watched her swallow. “Let us take some of the burden, all right? That’s just what Nagisa was trying to do.”

“O-Oh…” Gou broke eye contact with him and he lifted his head, chuckling.

“Well, let’s go check out the store, then,” Makoto said brightly, offering his hand to her. “Maybe we can find some sea animal toys for prizes.”

Cheeks red, but grinning all the same, the young girl took his hand. “We have to get sharks! Oniichan will definitely come if we have sharks!”

“I’m not surprised!” Makoto laughed as they left the school.


	5. Rin

By the time it happened with Rin, it had become such a natural habit that Makoto actually blushed when Rin finally pointed it out to him.

-

It was a crisp winter evening and the Iwatobi swim team was having a Christmas party with their Samezuka brethren. The party had been Nagisa’s idea, actually, and the Samezuka team had run with it, booking a reservation at a local restaurant and everything. Makoto had told Mikoshiba multiple times that they didn’t have to do so, but the other captain had just laughed it off. The redhead would later whisper to him that the party was his way of apologizing for Rin. Makoto just chuckled in return, trying to explain that he didn’t have to, but Mikoshiba was adamant. The younger captain had a feeling that the other young man was actually trying to look good in Gou’s eyes.

Hidden agendas aside, the party went smoothly. There was no friction between the two teams. The Samezuka relay team even joked about Rin team jumping. There was also a surprising amount of girls, though still far less compared to the amount of boys present. Nagisa had even convinced Tohru and her friends Aki and Miki to come, the former of which looked particularly out of her depth. Still, there were no big fights and that relieved Makoto. Considering that relay, there wasn’t as much animosity as he thought there would be. Actually, there was little to no hostility. Well, he supposed that the joint practices probably helped with that. With that in mind, Makoto let himself relax and enjoy the party.

Haruka stuck close to him, having never really enjoyed crowds to begin with, though the blue-eyed swimmer often drifted over to Rin. A number of times Makoto caught the two talking and his stomach would bubble excitedly. He liked that the two were no longer fighting. It put his mind to ease. If a fight did occur, he hoped that it wouldn’t be between those two. Smiling to himself, Makoto spent much of the party chatting with the other swimmers.

Throughout the night, he kept an eye on Haruka and Rin, making sure the two were still enjoying themselves. From their expressions, they both appeared to be. Rin was often laughing and smiling and Haruka had that almost smile on his face. That was good, great in fact. As soon as he saw them, he would sigh contently and then return to whomever he was talking to before. He should have known better than to expect no kinks at all.

During one of his quick looks, Makoto caught a sneer working itself onto Rin’s face. Dread flooded his system as his eyes darted around the vicinity of his friend. Other than some Samezuka swimmers inching away from him, there was no one who could be directly infuriating him. Makoto released the breath he had been holding.  At least Haruka wasn’t nearby, though that did little stop his worry. An angry Rin was not something anyone wanted.

Hoping to divert a scene, Makoto made his way over to the simmering redhead, glad to see that he was only grinding his teeth and not actually attacking anyone. Of course, it was probably only a matter of time until he exploded. From his peripheral, he could see Tohru making her way over as well. Knowing her, having gone to the same elementary as Rin, she probably had also noticed her childhood friend’s ire. However, she only made it a few feet before some of the Samezuka team commandeered her. Makoto paused, glancing uncertainly between the two, only to have his classmate covertly point him towards Rin. Giving her one last look, he hurried to Rin, who, he would admit, was the higher priority. Tohru could handle herself with these boys.

As soon as he was by Rin, Makoto touched the other boy’s shoulder, uttering a soft, “Rin?”

Startled, Rin jumped at the touch, twisting out of his grip and turning towards him in the process. The response surprised him honestly and he blinked slowly at his friend. When the action registered, a blush colored Rin’s cheeks. His shoulders slumped from their tense position and he offered a sheepish smile.

“Ah…sorry, Makoto,” Rin apologized, rubbing his neck. “You surprised me.”

Makoto smiled, dismissing the apology with a wave. “It’s fine, but are you okay?”

The scowl returned to his friend’s face. “Peachy.”

The green-eyed boy raised an eyebrow before he sighed and lowered his eyelids in disbelieving stare. “Rin.”

“Tch! It’s fucking annoying how goo-goo these _tossers_ get when a couple of girls cross their paths!” the redhead snapped, throwing scathing looks over his shoulder.

Despite the heat of Rin’s gaze, Makoto smiled. He followed the angry boy’s gaze and actually _laughed_. Aloud and not necessarily in Rin’s face, but the look he got in return was simultaneously thunderstruck and livid. Rin glared at him for it, but he couldn’t help it. The redhead was so cute sometimes! In the direction he had been scowling, Makoto could see both Gou and Tohru – as well as the guys chatting away excitedly to them. Considering Samezuka Academy was an all boys’ school and maybe about seven members of the swim team had girlfriends, it wasn’t all that surprising they were talking to a couple of the single girls there.

“Will you stop laughing!?” Rin growled, full on blushing now, from his cheeks to the tips of his ears. His teeth were clenched tightly in a snarl.

Makoto still chuckled though, shaking his head. “Oh, Rin!”

Before Rin could respond, he leant down without thinking and pressed their foreheads together. Immediately, the other boy stiffened, mouth dropping open and eyes widening. It was such a silly expression, though Makoto wondered if he had done something to cause it.

“W-Wha-!?”

“Don’t worry about it,” he reassured him, smiling warmly. “The girls can take care of themselves. Besides, I’m sure Gou-chan and Tohru-chan know that you’re looking out for them. Okay?”

Rin’s mouth moved wordlessly, cheeks still flushed. He looked increasingly frustrated and confused the longer the silence lasted. Makoto smiled a little more quizzically at his friend. After another prolonged moment of Rin mimicking a fish, the taller boy opened his mouth to ask him what was wrong. He never got a chance to, though.

Explosively, Rin exclaimed, “What are you _doing_!?”

And proceeded to push the Iwatobi captain away.

Makoto stumbled back a step, frowning in confusion. What had he done now? “What do you mean?”

“T-That-! That _forehead thing_!” Rin gestured rapidly between their heads.

“Forehead…thing?” Makoto echoed. He felt his cheeks heat up. “ _Oh._ ”

“‘Oh’?”

The Iwatobi captain shifted uncomfortably, rubbing his arm like a child caught taking a cookie before dinner. He dropped his gaze from Rin’s in embarrassment. Admittedly, he hadn’t even been aware that he had been doing it. His mind always had focused on helping the other person out and he never realized that he actually invaded their personal space to do so. If he thought about it, he had always done it, though before he could have sworn he was just inclining his head towards the other person.

“I, um, never noticed that I did that,” he finally confessed, blushing brightly. How embarrassing!

Rin lifted an eyebrow in response. “You didn’t?”

“No,” Makoto sighed. Lifting his gaze, he smiled sheepishly. “It’s something I do to calm everyone.”

In response, the redhead actually snorted, shaking his head. His cheeks were still red, but when he crossed his arms, there was a grin on Rin’s face. The expression relieved Makoto and he let his smile grow.

“You’re too nice, Makoto,” Rin remarked, chuckling. He lightly punched the taller boy’s arm. “To have such a _stupid_ habit.”

Makoto laughed lightly. “I guess so…”


	6. Ran & Ren

Even after he became aware of the habit, Makoto continued to do it.

-

His team thought it was cute and there were a number of times that Nagisa had caused a ruckus just to see Makoto do what he deemed “head boops”. It could be rather annoying actually, but Nagisa always made sure to apologize after each “head boop”. The next day he usually came stocked with sweets for whomever he had annoyed the day before and made sure to be particularly considerate to them. Thankfully, despite the amusement most of them got from it, the set-up fights didn’t occur regularly. That was a relief to Makoto, considering his dislike for strife. However, as he was an older brother and a captain, strife wasn’t actually far from him. It was after returning from a fun, but chaotic sleepover with the team that Makoto was reminded why he was so good at handling fights. And, actually, who he had gotten it from.

He had barely gotten out the words “I’m home” when a wail rose up from the living room. A small person barreled towards from that direction, tears running down her face.

“Niichannnnn!” Ran screamed as she barreled over to the door.

“Ran-? Oof!” Makoto gasped as the little girl launched herself into his arms. Coughing, he sunk down to his knees so as not to drop his sister. “Ugh…what’s wrong?”

“Ren, he-Ren, he-!” Ran sobbed, but whatever she was trying to say wouldn’t come. A moment later, an equally crying Ren appeared from the living room doorway.

“I didn’t do _anything_!” he wailed, fists clenched tightly.

“Ah, but…why are you both crying then?” Makoto asked soothingly, but the twins’ responses drowned each other out. He sighed softly.

With both of his younger siblings crying their eyes out and neither coherent, Makoto turned towards the other adult in the house. His mother, probably drawn by the noise, stood by the kitchen. A concerned frown pulled her mouth down as she wiped her hands on her apron. However, she looked just as confused as Makoto felt.

“Oh dear,” she murmured, taking in the scene. By the time she had arrived, Ren had joined Ran in smothering their elder brother. “Ran, Ren, let your brother inside. Then we’ll clear this up, all right?”

The twins might have responded, but their tears distorted it too much. Nevertheless, they released Makoto so he could remove his shoes and get away from the front door. Of course, the moment he was closer to the living room, Ran and Ren latched right back on. Makoto sighed along with his mother. They weren’t going to get anywhere with the twins so upset. Kneeling down, he looked into their faces.

“Ran, Ren, you need to stop crying,” he reprimanded gently, rubbing their heads. He smiled warmly as he continued, “If you don’t stop, how will I know what’s wrong?”

Ran and Ren sniffled, but both their mouths were trembling too much to form words. They would go to speak, but the words came out garbled and the twins would just start crying all over again. It was obvious they were trying, but whatever they were saying was just too distorted for either him or his mother to understand. He shared a looked with his mother and she sighed with a smile.

Kneeling next to her eldest, Mrs. Tachibana gently turned Ren towards herself. Her youngest sniffled, blinking wet, confused eyes at her. Softly, she laid her forehead against his. “All right, Ren-chan. It’ll be okay. We’ll clear this up.”

Ren rubbed his eyes and nodded. Smiling, Mrs. Tachibana rubbed her head against his eliciting a laugh. Ran watched with jealous eyes.

“Me too, me too!” she shouted and Makoto laughed along with his mother.

“Come here, Ran,” he said and then gently bumped their foreheads together. “There, better? Everything will be okay.”

Ran giggled and wiped at her face. There was a smile on her face, but it disappeared when she glanced at her twin. Instead, she huffed softly, puffing out her cheeks. Makoto gave her a disapproving look at the performance. Breaking the contact, he took her shoulders and gently turned her towards Ren. His mother had done the same with his younger brother and the twins stood awkwardly not meeting each other’s eyes even though their mother was gently trying to coax them to speak.

“Come on, Ren-chan, Ran-chan,” she murmured, smiling sweetly. “Let’s get this cleared up, okay?”

The twins looked at each other sullenly. Both pouted.

“Ren, Ran,” Makoto chimed in, squeezing his sister’s shoulders. “Apologize, okay?”

“But-!” Both stopped and leered at the other.

“But it’s Ren’s fault!” Ran complained, looking beseechingly at Makoto.

“Is not!” Ren retorted, crossing his arms.

“Is too!”

“Is n-!”

“Hey! Stop it!” Makoto scolded, frowning. “Look, how about this? If you two apologize and promise not to fit for _one whole week_ , niichan will share his dessert with you. Deal?”

His mother laughed as two sets of sparkling eyes turned towards him. “Deal!”


	7. Nitori

His friends and family weren’t even the limit of the people to whom he did the “head boop”. At least he didn’t do it to his elders, though. (He was sure Ms. Amakata would probably flunk him in something if he did it to her.)

-

Multiple people had told Makoto a number of times that he was too kind. That he had a bleeding heart. Honestly, he didn’t think there was anything wrong with being kind, though he supposed that he could be gullible occasionally. Still he preferred being kind to anything else. There had been a time in middle school where he felt really down and uncertain, leading him to be somewhat curter with people, and he really hadn’t liked that. It had made him feel like he was pushing people away. He may be more on the introverted side, but he still didn’t mind social interaction. So he much rather preferred being kind and welcoming to people.

Which was why when he saw Nitori looking upset during the New Year’s party, he immediately went to the first year’s side.

Admittedly, Makoto didn’t really know much about that gray-haired boy. Most of the things he did know, he either picked up from their practices or learned from Rin. What he did know could fill maybe a small pamphlet, if even that. Still, even without really knowing Nitori, Makoto couldn’t very well leave the boy looking so distressed. The first year probably didn’t want to worry Rin so he had probably moved away from everyone else not to cause a scene. So it wasn’t Nitori’s fault that the Iwatobi captain had noticed him. Makoto just seemed to have the ability to detect immediately when someone was upset.

Despite all the people gathered together, Makoto managed to make it to the gray-haired boy rather easily. Nitori’s hands held a plastic cup tightly and a wobbling frown pulled his lips down. He hadn’t noticed Makoto yet, not until the second year leaned against the wall next to him. That was when Nitori jumped almost a foot, his empty cup flying from his hands.

“O-Oh! T-T-T-Tachibana-san! Y-You surprised me!” he exclaimed, snatching his cup from the floor. He smiled, but it looked nervous. “W-What can I do for you?”

“I was just checking on you,” Makoto responded, smiling himself. He tried to look reassuring. “Is everything okay? You seemed upset a moment ago.”

Nitori’s cheeks flared and he instantly dropped his eyes. “A-Ah! N-No! I’m okay! I-I wasn’t u-upset! No! I just was thinking about how I could improve…”

Even though he was trying for an upbeat tone, his voice got quieter by the end of his excuse. He rolled the cup between his hands, looking upset again. Rin had mentioned that Nitori felt inferior to most of the team, despite his relatively decent times. Considering that Rin was his roommate, there was probably some pressure not to appear pathetic in the redhead’s eyes, especially with them living together. It would be horrible to be looked at with disdain in what should be one’s safe haven.

Nitori was improving from what Makoto had seen at their joint practices. The younger boy was making progress, though he probably wasn’t seeing it himself. That scared Makoto a little. No offense to Rin, but he found it horrifying that Nitori could possibly go down that path. Comparing oneself to others often led to bad things.

With that pout on Nitori’s face and a darker look in his eyes, Makoto did the only thing he knew would draw a different reaction.

“Nitori-kun,” he called and, when the first year turned towards him, he pressed their foreheads together. It wasn’t comfortable, but it was a little better than Nagisa. “You’re doing great. Rin says you’ve cut your time a great deal since you started. Don’t compare yourself to others. Everyone progresses at different paces. So don’t worry, okay, Nitori-kun?”

Nitori blinked, face flushed. “O-Okay?

“Good.” Smiling, Makoto straightened and leaned back against the wall. Nitori was still staring at him. “Nitori-kun?”

“T-Tachibana-senpai…” he murmured and Makoto’s smile turned a little confused.

“Ah, but we don’t go to the same school…”

“Then Captain Tachibana!”

“You…You don’t have to call me that.”

“Thank you so much for your kind words, Captain Tachibana!”

“N-Nitori-kun, really. It’s fine. Just call me Makoto.”

“Captain M-Mako-ahhh, I can’t do it! I’m sorry, Captain Tachibana!”

Smiling nonetheless, Makoto sighed.


	8. Sousuke

It was during his third year of high school that Makoto learned that his “head boop” didn’t work well on people taller than him.

-

Being perfectly honest, Makoto would have to say he had a relatively poor first impression of Yamazaki Sousuke. Well, that was a lie. He hadn’t really had an impression of him the first time they met. It was really more of a second impression then, but still a poor one. Yamazaki had come across overprotective and rude, his glare haunting Makoto’s thoughts for days after that incident back in first year of junior high. Makoto understood wanting to protect your friend, especially someone like Rin, but the other boy’s reaction to Haruka had been extreme. Still, he hadn’t let it bother him too much, if only for Haru’s sake.

Which meant that when Makoto met Yamazaki again in third year, he was understandably worried. Nevertheless, he smiled pleasantly when he saw the sullen looking boy again, appreciating Gou’s cheerful greeting to her childhood friend. It served to lighten the mood a bit and at least she was oblivious to the obvious attraction of the younger Mikoshiba. Well, Gou probably knew, but Makoto was glad she ignored Momotaro for Rin’s sake. Rin definitely still viewed his younger sister as a little girl.

Even after Splash Fest, Makoto didn’t want to admit he had a foreboding feeling about Yamazaki. There was definitely some anger towards Haruka there, but Haru hadn’t said anything, so Makoto let himself relax. Maybe he was just being overprotective himself. Yamazaki had been maybe twelve or thirteen when that spat had happened. It had been five years now. They were older and more mature. Makoto was willing to forgive…he was just working on the forgetting part.

And then, he discovered that Yamazaki Sousuke was taller than him. It was completely by accident; he swore it was. It was just an accident. A really… _awkward_ …accident…

Being taller than most of his classmates and friends, Makoto had become accustomed only looking his father in the eye and only looking up to Mikoshiba Seijuurou. That’s what made it so easy to do the “head boop”. He just had to lean down to press their foreheads together. He felt awkward doing it to those older than him, though, so that had never been an issue. Besides, his father was an even-tempered man, so there was no need even to try. If there was, his mother could do it in his stead. He hadn’t had to do it to the former Samezuka captain either because, honestly, Mikoshiba was a very cheerful person. Literally, nothing seemed to affect him. Which meant that Makoto had never had to calm down someone taller than himself since he was in junior high.

He should have seen it coming, honestly.

The joint practice with Samezuka was going swimmingly, pun not intended. The only nervousness was because Iwatobi hadn’t gotten any new members yet while it was obvious that Samezuka’s numbers had barely changed from the previous year. Still, everyone was performing well and some members whom they had met previously actually joked around with the team, despite Captain Matsuoka’s leers. Not that Rin could really reprimand them, considering he was joking himself. He even stood next to Makoto and tried to look official before the two of them started laughing at his overdramatic expression. It staved off the foreboding feeling that was still bugging him. Makoto could breathe a sigh of relief.

However, being him, it didn’t take him long to notice the glare locked onto his best friend. Even without turning, Makoto knew to whom the glare belonged. Yamazaki’s gaze focused on Haruka as the latter cut through the water, doing another freestyle lap. He couldn’t even justify it as a curious or admiring look; there was a calculated amount of distaste on Sousuke’s face. It didn’t really set of any alarms, but Makoto was still worried. Scary as the other boy was, he still wanted to get along with him. He was Rin’s friend, too, after all! Seeing as Rin was preoccupied with the younger Mikoshiba, Makoto decided to attempt an olive branch.

Maneuvering among the other swimmers, he couldn’t help slowing a little the closer he got to Sousuke. As much as he wanted to stop the glare on the other’s face, he really had no idea what he would say. A normal greeting would probably suffice, but he had the feeling that Yamazaki would reply a curtly as possible. And Makoto really wanted him to stop looking at Haruka that way.

 _“Here goes nothing, then…”_ he thought to himself, stepping up to the other swimmer. “Ah, Yamazaki-kun! Um…”

Yamazaki’s gaze swept his way and his piercing teal eyes froze him briefly. “Tachibana.”

“Uh…” Makoto floundered for a subject before Sousuke turned away. “G-Gou-chan mentioned you’ve been scouted?”

“Mm. Because of my butterfly,” Yamazaki responded, narrowing his eyes at something beyond Makoto.

It was probably Haruka again by the way those teal eyes were narrowed. Makoto shifted his stance a little, centering himself just in case the other boy barged past him. He could be protective too and his whole plan had been to form an acquaintance with Yamazaki that would stop this…rivalry or whatever he had. A scowl formed on Sousuke’s face and, honestly, Makoto panicked a little. What he did next was a total accident, really. A complete and total accident. Well, an intentional accident if that made sense.

The annoyed look on Sousuke’s face didn’t necessarily scare him. It certainly worried him, but it didn’t scare him. At least, not very much. If he was scared, it was for Haruka because he could just tell that that was at whom Yamazaki was leering. Honestly, he didn’t want to know what Sousuke would do so that’s why, as per usual, Makoto did the “head boop”. However, he forgot to factor in that Sousuke was taller than he was. It was less him hitting their foreheads together and more him head-butting Sousuke in the face.

“Ow.”

“Oh my god, Yamazaki-kun! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to do that!” Makoto could feel his cheeks burning. He didn’t just do that.

Sousuke was holding his nose, but it looked like it was more out of confusion than actual pain. He did just do that. Oh, he was so embarrassed! Yamazaki’s brows furrowed and the other boy lowered his hand. There wasn’t any blood, but still. Makoto had meant to calm him, not hit him! His cheeks still burned as Sousuke scrutinized him.

“…you just head-butted me in the face,” he remarked, rising one dark brow.

“I-I didn’t meant to! Well, I did, but not that way!” Makoto floundered for words, aware that his voice was an octave higher than normal. They were probably gaining attention.

Actually, it sounded like someone…two someones were laughing. Oh, God, he knew those voices…

“Oh my God, Mako-chan! You didn’t!” Nagisa’s voice carried in the open space of the Samezuka pool.

“M-Makoto…pffft!” Rin snickered from somewhere behind him.

Makoto just wanted the floor to swallow him.

“I-I was going to do this…thing I do where I touch foreheads and I do it as a calming thing and I forgot you’re taller than me and PLEASE NAGISA, RIN, STOP LAUGHING!” His explanation ended in a wail, eyes focused anywhere but Sousuke.

He should have seen this coming! He just wanted Yamazaki to stop glaring at Haru and just…he didn’t even know. Smile? Makoto couldn’t even remember what Sousuke’s smile even looked like; though he was sure that the taller boy had smiled at Gou at Splash Fest. And that had been nice. But geez, how could he even think that doing the stupid forehead touch would even work? He wasn’t even sure Sousuke liked him! It was easy with Nitori because, well, they had a decent relationship. But Yamazaki?

Ugh, he definitely screwed up big time now.

There was a noise, something like an all-suffering sigh, and then Makoto felt someone tug him back a step or two. Two cool and wet hands grabbed his face and the next thing he knew he was staring into Haruka’s impassive face. An eyebrow quirked at him and those blue eyes actually _sparkled_ with mirth.

“Is this what you meant to do?” His best friend’s voice was almost amused and Makoto managed a smile, his cheeks still warm.

“Yeah,” he laughed, leaning back as Haruka released him. He offered Sousuke an apologetic smile. “Sorry again.”

“Ugh, you’re so mushy!” Rin complained and Sousuke actually rolled his eyes, sharing a ‘Can you believe it’ look with Makoto. The green-eyed boy grinned in response.

“Rin-Rin, come here.”

“Who are you calling ‘Rin-Rin’-!? Oi. Haru, stay back! OI!”

The splash that followed covered up their laughter, as did the shouting, but the smile on Sousuke’s face was more than enough for Makoto.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with this, this is the last of the Head Boops. I hope you enjoyed reading this~!


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